Tuesday, December 11, 2012

TMI Tuesday-- 'Tis the Season

1. During the December holiday season, Do you a. Go away to join other family? b. Have holiday fun with immediate family? c. Get to be alone with a lover? d. Enjoy the peace and quiet and down-time of being with yourself?

None of the above, really. Time with my family over the holidays is usually VERY stressful for me emotionally. It is easier for me to stay put and( most of the time) be alone/lonely than deal with the crud of being with certain family members. In many years past I volunteered to work. For certain forms of services (first responders and direct care, specifically) you don't get holidays. Sometimes you don't get holiday pay, but someone has to do it. Working would help me be less sad/lonely. Plus, many of my co-workers had children or other family things, making it even more difficult for them to balance responsibilities. I could feel good about helping them out, and when I'd need time off they'd willingly cover for it.

Not being Christian in some ways is VERY helpful. :) I'll work your holidays, you work mine. It balances out. This is the first holiday season (including Thanksgiving the other week) that I haven't had to work in a VERY long time. Thankfully I have a local spiritual community and have made some friends there in the last two years, so there is a place I am welcome where I can celebrate Yule sabbat. And then I'll celebrate the holy day (winter solstice) privately in my own way. Which is the day before we're scheduled to meet for Circle this month.

My holy day is the day the world is ending. Might as well go out with a bang! ;)

I do enjoy having peace and quiet and down-time to myself, but being back in school the holidays do tend to stretch a bit. Kind of hard not to get in a rut or get depressed. One good thing of not going to my parents' or grandmother's though, no danger of over-eating on all kinds of goodies. This year I will most likely be visiting my god-daughter and her family over New Year's and am looking forward to that. I haven't seen her in a year and it will be nice to visit. Plus, one less holiday where I don't have to worry about 'what I'm going to do'.2. What is your favorite holiday tradition or thing that you like to do every holiday season?

I don't know that I have one, not since I've ventured out on my own permanently. (Living in an apartment near campus in my early 20s SO doesn't count) Growing up, we would often start holiday decorating the day after Thanksgiving. That is also when we'd turn on the holiday music. The Messiah was probably on every day, or almost every day, in my parents' household growing up. My family is very musical and we sing parts. Quite a lot of skill and joy in that. And polyphonic Handel is HARD, folks. ;) We have lots of wonderful, older recordings. Before contemporary artists started ruining the religious music. ick

I haven't yet broken out the holiday music, though I think I may change that today. It's been difficult for me to get in the mood with the unusually warm several weeks we've had in Saint Louis. (NOT complaining about that), but it just doesn't feel like Christmas.

Turning on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir .........

Before opening presents in my parents' house, we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and pray. For a few years it bugged me, it felt oppressive as I was stretching from my parents' faith and moving my own, new way. But now the ritual of it sooths me. A reminder of simpler times, and happier Christmases.

I like to try to go to Christmas Eve service for the music, but more often than not the last few years I've found it boring. It IS the same readings year after year after year. And oftentimes I take exception to what the minister is saying. The miraculous story often gets lost or layered with the reverend's interpretation of how God thinks we should behave. I just want to sing!

It probably is time for me to start my own traditions, just for me.

3. You are walking down the street and a
sexy person is standing with a sign that says “Kiss Me” and mistletoe
hanging above their head. 1. Would you kiss that person? YES or NO 2. Why or why not?

Yes, I would. Why not? I don't kiss, or get kissed, very often. A few friends with nice hugs and pecks on the cheek but I don't see them often. Physical is affection is fun, so I'll happily take some! I wouldn't French him/her or anything like that, though. You don't know where s/he has been. Especially walking around with that sign! ;)

4. Santa made up his list and he has
checked it twice. Turns out you are on the “naughty” list. What is the
naughty thing you did that put you on that list?Well, from a serious perspective I have damaged some relationships this year. Budding ones that are now defunct. But that hurts me far more than it does others. Violated a friend's trust, and won't be forgiving myself for that one anytime soon. Though it's getting better.

From a fun perspective........ well, I've played TNH a few times this fall. :D I've sent dirty pictures of myself to one particular friend. And did quite a bit of naughty sexting and roll-play via IM this year. I'll happily stay on the naughty list if I can enjoy those activities again this coming year. :-*

If you aren't playing TNH and already have a naughty blog and/or exhibition streak, you SHOULD be playing. It's a lot of fun........

5. For being naughty you have been
locked in a room where you will be forced to learn about holiday cheer.
You will have to watch 24 hours of a holiday movie, which movie would
you choose to watch? (pick just one)a. A Christmas Story b. It’s a Wonderful Life c. White Christmas d. A Christmas Carol (original 1938 version or the 1992 Muppet version)WOW. ok, that's cruel and unusual. I don't like A Christmas Story OR It's a Wonderful Life. So 24 hours of that would suck. I enjoy White Christmas very much for the singing and dancing (and Danny Kaye is one of my all time favorites), so that might just ruin the movie for me. I enjoy the 92 Muppet Christmas Carol, but again, 24 hours?

I guess I'd pick the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol. It's decently close to Dickens, and he certainly layered a lot of meaning into all his works. I'm sure I'd be utterly sick of it after 24 hours but I'd be more familiar with it, and the movies I enjoy wouldn't be ruined for me. Nor would I be forced to endure options A or B.

MEAN Santa! =(

Bonus:
The holidays can be a hectic time of year, so much so that romance
might take a back seat to festivities and such. Give us YOUR sexy tip
for keeping away the “chill” and “heating up” the holiday season.

I don't have any particularly 'sexy' tips for keeping away the chill, but ladies if you live in colder climes just don't shave your legs. I don't in cold weather, and my body thanks me for it. Especially these last two years being a metro girl! If a partner has a problem with it then too bad! We could negotiate, but there's NO WAY in a cold Midwestern winter I'm keeping my legs shaved smooth. I would suggest using a regular electric trimmer to prune the forest down to shrub length every now and then though. Long leg hair sometimes tangles in jeans and other warm pants. That can be disconcerting or even uncomfortable. You'll get pulled. A good pair of darker colored tights, and no one will see the hair.

If you're like me and don't like wearing a lot of clothes to bed, you can have a good pair of socks on and not have to layer on the pj's as much. Warm feel make a world of difference. Personally, I love to be snuggled under the warm covers with the room just a tad on the chilly side. Shirt, socks, and nothing else. If the room isn't TOO cold, then just the socks. :D Not always doable for comfort and health, though.

oh-- and for joint pain/stiffness, etc, I highly recommend the new electric/heated mattress pads. Warmth from below (instead of just piling on covers or using a traditional electric blanket) keeps me limber. I don't creak when I get up for the day, and don't need a good 15-20 minutes to be able to move normally.
————-How to play TMI Tuesday: Copy the above TMI Tuesday
questions to your webspace (i.e., a blog). Answer the questions there,
then leave a comment below, on this blog post, so we’ll all know where
to read your responses. Please don’t forget to link to tmituesdayblog from your website!

6 comments:

Handel is a pimp, he is the king of Christmas after that Hallelujah that he composed which will forever be an all-time classic, whether you believe or not...hell, just that chorus made me believe for a few more years...still woozy off the dentist gas...

As someone who generally loves his family but has never experienced the December holidays without a huge gathering, part of me really envies you for your answer to #1. I'm not saying I'd rather be lonely, but there's got to be a happy medium.

Your answer to #2 resonated with me, particularly the paragraph about Christmas Eve service. In thirty-six years, I have skipped or otherwise missed church on Christmas Eve three times: 1997, 1999, and 2003. I was raised Catholic, though I do not believe in organized religion; and my wife's family is devoutly Catholic. Christmas Eve mass is a fact of life. I don't mind it, really. I rather like the memories I get from attending church on Christmas Eve, as it reminds me of my childhood and adolescence, in particular going with my extended family when I was a child. Stepping in to a crowded church on Christmas Eve immediately brings me back to some Christmas Eve when I was a young child, excitedly imagining the presents that awaited me under the tree the next morning. Wow, my childhood memories are awfully materialistic.

Your answer to #3 was funny, but also touching. I opted not to kiss the stranger, though I do tend to get quite a bit of physical affection in my daily life so maybe that's why. But yeah, probably a smart policy, not sticking your tongue in the mouths of people you don't know. :)

Your fun naughty activities as described in #4 sound great! That's definitely the kind of naughty I imagine Santa can get behind.

We've got a great mattress pad, but it's not heated. We might need to give this a shot, as "warmth from below" never occurred to us!

I appreciate the honesty of your answers and the tenderness with which you addressed them. Moving on from the faith of our fathers is difficult and Christmas brings up many of the contradictions we feel in our life.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and may all your Christmases be Bright.